Seven years ago, Shanghai -- China’s most populous city and historically one of its least car-friendly -- began banning bicycles on many of its largest thoroughfares, to better facilitate the passage of motor vehicle traffic, including the metropolis' burgeoning fleet of private cars.

Jamie Kitman’s personality was evidently arrested at the age of 12, for though he was trained as a lawyer (and remains a member of the New York and New Jersey bars), he earns his living writing about cars and managing the careers of rock musicians.